Car-coupling.



No. 688,526. Patented Dec. I0, 190i. W. H. KEEN.

CAR COUPLING.

(Application filed Jan. 18, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet PatentedDec. l0, l90l.

W. H. KEEN.

GAB COUPLING.

(Application filed. Jan. 18, 1901.

Y 2 Sheets-Shut 2.

(No Model.)

"m: norms PETERS co. PKOTOMIHQ. wgumdmu. n. c,

UNITED" STATES PATENT OFFlCE.

\VALTER H. KEEN, OF AOAMPO, CALIFORNIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,526, dated December10, 1901.

Application filed January 18, 1901. Serial No. 43,737. (No model.)

To all whom it 77mg concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER H. KEEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Acampo, county of San Joaquin, State of California, haveinvented an Improvement in Oar-Couplings; and I hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to improvements in car-couplings, and is especiallyapplicable to that class of couplings in which the drawhead has apivoted horizontally swinging hook or knuckle adapted to engage andinterlock with the corresponding knuckle of the opposite draw-head whenthe two engage and interlock for the purpose of connecting the carstogether.

My invention consists in a mechanism by which the swinging hooks orknuckles may be closed and locked when the cars are brought together,means for preventing the disengaging of the look by what is technicallyknown as creeping, means for disengaging the look, so that the cars maystand together without the coupling being locked, and means forpositively opening the hooks or knuckles in readiness for coupling. 7

It also comprises a supplemental lock carried by the hook or knuckle torelieve the swivel-pin, a novel construction of a coupling-pin actuatedby gravitation, and means carried by said pin whereby the locking andunlocking are effected.

- it locked again.

In the use of car-couplings employing horizontally-swinging hooks orknuckles carried by the draw-heads and adapted to interlock with eachother when the cars are coupled and to be swung open to release thecoupling much difficulty is experienced in maintaining the parts of thecoupling in such condition that they will not disengage and separate bythe jar and working of the train'while in motion and by the gradual wearof the parts. It is the design of my invention to simplify theconstruction and the actual number of parts in the coupling to insureapositive locking and interlocking of the engaging knuckles by theoperation of a coupling-pin and to provide a positive lock to preventaccidental uncoupling, said lock being formed upon the pin and thepassage or channel in the draw-head in which it is slidable.

In the drawings I have shown one drawhead A of a car-coupling having ahook or knuckle 2 pivoted in one arm 3 of the drawhead by means of avertical pin 4, aboutwhich it is turnable in a horizontal plane. Thehook or knuckle is formed, as shown,

with the outer end of hook portion'of a depthapproximately equal to thevertical depth from top to bottom of the adjacent part of the draw-head.The central and rear portions of the knuckle are of sufficiently lessdepth to fit between the upper and lower parts of a horizontal mortiseformed in the arm of the draw-head, and the tailpiece 5 of the knuckleswings into and out of the rear portion of this mortise. A verticalopening 6 is made in the draw-head approximately central to the line ofdraft, and in the present construction it is shown as rectangular inshape and intersecting the rear or inner portion of the mortise in thedraw-head within which the tailpiece 5 swings, and a rectangularcoupling-pin 7 is slidable so as to drop by gravitation in the slot orpassage 6, so that when the hook or knuckle has been swung into acoupling po-,

sition the tailpiece 5 will have passed beyond the line of thecoupling-pin and the latter will drop, so as to engage the front edge ofthe tailpiece, and thus prevent it from again swinging outwardly toallow of uncoupling. The tailpiece 5 has a reversely-curved hook 8projecting backwardly and adapted to enter and engage with acorrespondingly-formed socket 9 in the draw-head, so that when the partsare in position for coupling, this hook 8 engaging the socket and thecoupling-pin 7 being in position to engage the front of the tailpiece,it will be seen that any pull upon the hook or knuckle will be resistedby the interlocking of the lug 8 in its socket 9 and the engagement ofthe tailpiece 5 with the coupling-pin 7, and the pivot-pin 4, aboutwhich the knuckle is turnable, will be relieved of any strain caused bythe pull upon the coupling.

The action when the coupling-pin is in place is sufiiciently secure toretain the coupling in its interlocked position even if the pivot-pin 4be withdrawn.

In order to relieve the parts of shocks caused by the forcible strikingwhen the cars come together, the tailpiece 5 is made somewhat thinnerthan the central portion, which swings in the mortise of the draw-head,and the rear portion of this mortise is made to correspondingly fit thetailpiece. This forms shoulders in the mortise, as at 10, andcorresponding shoulders 10 upon the tailpiece, which abut against theshoulders of the drawhead when the coupling is closed, and thus receivesuch shocks and relieve the operating parts of injurious strains,because when thus closed with these shoulders in contact the knuckle isessentially a part and continuation of the draw-head itself.

The vertical hole or passage 6, through which the coupling-pin passes,is here shown as made rectangular in form and having a major diametergreater than the major diameter of the pin 7, so that the latter may bemoved from the front to the rear of the opening for the purpose ofengaging with the tailpiece or being disengaged therefrom.

The pin 7 hasa head extending to one side in the direction of its longerdiameter and beveled or shaped approximately as shown at 11, so thatwhen the pin has dropped into position for coupling the cars thisprojection fits into and fills the space left at one side of the pin byreason of the greater diameter of the pin-opening. This prevents theentrance of dirt, ice, and snow, which would be liable to clog theaction of the parts. The pin is operated by inclines or bevels formedupon itself and corresponding inclines within the slot 6, in which it ismovable. These inclines are preferably arranged one near the top and theother near the bottom, so that the upper and lower part of the pin willbe moved simultaneously forward or backward, and it will be thusmaintained in an approximately vertical position at any point in itsmovement. It will be understood that the inclines may be made upon anysuitable or convenient part of the pin, either upon the rear or, asshown in the present case, upon the side and top. As here illustratedthe projection 11, which forms a closure for the top of the slot 6, isslidable against the rear angle 12 at the top of the slot, while theinclined offset 13 near the lower part of the pin is slidable upon acorresponding incline 14 made within the lower part of the channel 6, sothat when the pin is raised it can move to the rear part of the channel6, and when it is dropped the inclines 11 and 13 slide, respectively,upon the angle 12 or an equivalent incline and the in'- cline 14, thusforcing the pin toward the front edge of the slot, and as this slotintersects the mortise in the draw-head within which the tailpiece 5 isturnable it will be seen that as soon as the hook or knuckle has beenclosed sufficiently for coupling the tailpiece will have passed behindthe frontedge of the pin 7, and the latter will then drop bygravitation, so that its front edge stands in front of the tailpiece andprevents the latter from being withdrawn.

The central portion of the pin 7 is cut away, as at 15, thus making thepin narrower at that point than it is above and below. This part 15coincides with or stands opposite to the tailpiece when the pin islifted, so that the lifting of the pin retracts it, sliding upon itsinclines, so that the tailpiece is no longer locked by the pin, but canswing outwardly at any time to allow the cars to be separated. lVhen thepin is raised for the purpose of uncoupling, the bevel or incline 22 atthe side of the cut-away space 15 contacts with the lower angle 23 ofthe tailpiece, and this forces the pin back and disengages it from thetailpiece. The latter thus stands opposite the full face 24 of the pin,and this prevents the reengagement of the parts and leaves the tailpiecein position to swing clear of the pin when actual uncoupling takesplace. This pin is thus raised and lowered by the usual bell-crank lever16, which is journaled upon the end of the car, having one arm withinreach of an operator and the other arm connected by a chain with the topof the pin. When the pin has dropped to its position in engagement withthe tailpiece 5, the upper edge 17 of the cut-away portion 15 of the pinwill have dropped below the top of the tailpiece sui'ficiently to form alock of such character as to prevent the possibility of any separationof the parts by creeping or by any action that is likely to occur duringthe movement of the train.

When the cars are separated, it is desirable to swing the knuckle 2outwardly to its fullest extent, and this brings the tailpiece 5forward. The coupling-pin 7 will drop to its lowest point by gravitationwhen not held up by exterior means, such as a pawl, and the parts arethen in position for automatic coupling whenever the draw-heads of twocars come together. The knuckle of one draw-head will strike the frontof the tailpiece 5 and will push it back, thus raising the pin 7, aswill be hereinafter described, and allowing the tailpiece to swingupwardly until it has passed behind the pin and the latter has droppedinto position to lock it. As the shoulder 17 stands below the uppersurface of the tailpiece when the pin is in its lowest position, it isnecessary to provide a means for raising and retracting the pinautomatically when the coupling is to take place. For this reason theshoulder 17 is beveled or inclined, as shown, and the lug 8 of thetailpiece has its iipper surface inclined or beveled,- as shown at 18,sufficiently so that it will strike the bevel 17 when the tailpieceswings backwardly and will lift the pin. The pin is also looked againstcreeping by reason of the incline 13 dropping below the angle of theincline 14, so that the two vertical faces, respectively, of the pin andof the projection which forms the incline 14 stand against each other,which prevents any tendency of the pin to move backward and disengagefrom the tailpiece. When, as above described, the tailpiece is swungback, the incline or bevel 18, contacting with the bevel of the shoulder17, will first lift the pin, disengaging the vertical faces contiguousto the inclines 13 and 14, so that the pin is at liberty to move towardthe rear part of its slot, at the same time sliding up the incline 14,50as to allow the tailpiece to swing to the position where it can belocked. The face or edge of the tailpiece which strikes the pin iscurved or inclined eccentrically to its pivot-pin 4, so that when itstrikes the pin 7 it first lifts it slightly, and then, pressing againstthe edge of the pin at the cut-away portion 15, it forces the pin upwardand backward in its slot, so as to allow the tailpiece to swing past it,and as soon as the front edge of the tailpiece has passed the pin thelatter will drop by gravitation into position, which locks the tailpiecein place. In this position the rear hook 8 of the tailpiece has engagedwith its socket 9 in the draw-head, and the shoulders 10 and 10 of themortise and knuckle are also in contact, and the whole structure is verysolid to resist shocks or the strain of sudden pulls.

When the coupling-pin has been raised sufficiently to allow the knuckleto swing freely for uncoupling purposes, it may, as previously stated,he held in that position without entirely lifting the pin, and thisallows the couplings to be separated at any time when a car is to bepulled away and one to remain.

When the cars are separated, it is desirable to open the knuckle intoposition for a subsequent coupling. This is effected by turning thebell-crank lever 16 so as to pull the pin up to its highest point. Whenthis is done, the beveled shoulder 19 at the lower end of the cut-awayportion 15 engages a corre-.

spondingly-shaped incline 20 formed on the lower surface of thetailpiece, and these inclines are sufficiently steep or inclined to eachother so that the pulling up 'of the pin acts positively toswing theknuckle or hook around its pivot-pin, andlthus throw it wide open readyfor another coupling.

Having thus described my'invention, what I claim as new; and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination in a car-coupler of a.

drawhead having a horizontal mortise, a swinging hook or knuckle pivotedto the drawhead and having a rear tailpiece projecting into saidmortise, said draw-head having a vertical opening intersecting themortise and having inclines near th u pperand lower ends, and acoupling-pin having inclines near the upper and lower ends andwhichinclines are constructed to overlap or pass those in the verticalopening of the draw-head whereby the inclines presentverticalcontact-faces to form a lock. I

2. The combination in a car-coupler of a draw-head having a horizontalmortise, a hook or knuckle pivoted and horizontally turnable withrelation to the draw-head having a tailpiece projecting into themortise, a vertical rectangular opening in the draw-head intersectingthe mortise and having inclines near theupper and lower end, acoupling-pin, the major axis of which is less than that of thepin-opening, inclines carried by the pin and engaging the inclines ofthe pin-opening to force the pin forward in position to lock theswingingtailpiece, said inclines upon the pin and opening being soconstructed as to overlap or pass each other and present verticalcontact-faces to form a look, when the pin is set at its lowest point.

3. The combination in a car-coupling of a horizontally-mortiseddraw-head having a vertical rectangular coupling-pin openingintersecting the rear of the mortise, said opening having inclines nearits upper and lower end, a hook or knuckle pivoted to the draw-headhaving a tailpiece adapted to swing within the mortise and across theline of the coupling-pin opening, and a pin having correspondinginclines engaging those in the said opening whereby. the pin is forcedto the front of its opening by gravitation to engage the tailpiece, saidinclines upon the pin and in the opening adapted to overlap or pass eachother and presentvertical contact-faces to form a look, a cut-awayportion of the pin made between the opposite ends thereof and throughwhich the tailpiece is adapted to swing when the pin is retracted, and ashoulder formed at the upper part of said cut-away portion and droppingbelow the upper edge of the tailpiece when interlocked therewith.

4. In a car-co'upling,a horizontally mortised draw-head, a hook orknuckle pivoted thereto havingatailpiece projectinginto the mortise, avertical coupling-pin opening intersecting the rear end of the mortiseand having inclines formed near the upper and lower end, a coupling-pin,the major axis of which is less than that of the opening, said pinhaving inclines adapted to engage those of the opening and to force thepin forward when it drops by gravitation, a centrally-located cut-awayportion of the front of the pin which coincides with the tailpiece andallows the latter to pass when the pin is raised, an inclined shoulderat the upper part of said cut-away portion and a correspondingformationupon the tailpiece whereby the latter acts to raise the pinautomatically so as to pass it when swinging into coupling position.

5. The combination in a car-coupler of a horizontally-mortiseddraw-head, a hook or IIO knuckle pivoted to the draw-head having atailpiece projecting into the mortise, a vertical coupling-pin openingintersecting the path of travel of the tailpiece, a coupling-pin of lessdiameter than that of the pin=opening, and having the central frontportion cut away so that when raised and the pin retracted said portioncoincides with the tailpiece, and allows the latter to swing past it,inclines upon the pin and within the opening whereby the pin may beretracted transversely when raised and advanced to interlock with thetailpiece when dropped, said inclines adapted to overlap or pass eachother and present vertical contact-faces to form a lock, an incline uponthe under surface of the tailpiece, a corre-,

sponding shoulder at one side of the bottom of the cut-away portion ofthe pin adapted to engage the incline of the tailpiece and toforcethelatteroutwardand swing the knuckle backward when the pin isforcibly raised.

6. The combination in a car-coupler of a draw-head having a horizontalmortise formed in one side said mortise having shoulders arranged indifferent horizontal elevations intermediate of its length, a knucklehaving a tailpiece projecting into the mortise, and pivoted therein,said mortise having a chamber in the rear and said knuckle having a hookat-its rear to enter said chamber when the parts are in a couplingposition, a pivot-pin about which the knuckle is turnable and shoulderson the under face of the tailpiece and adapted to abut against theshoulders of the mortise when the parts are in a coupling positionwhereby the shoulders support the parts against shocks and relieve thepivot-pin therefrom, and a vertical slidable pin having upper and lowerinclines adapted to overlap or pass those in the pin-opening and presentvertical con tact-faces to form a lock said slidable pin movable in thepin-opening in the draw-head so as to intersect the path of travel ofthe tailpiece, and coacting with the hook of the tailpiece and thechamber therefor to retain the parts in position independently of thepivot-pin of the knuckle.

7. The combination in a car-coupler of a draw-head having a horizontalmortise, a hook or knuckle pivoted therein and horizontally turnablewith relation to the draw-head, with a tailpiece projecting into themortise, a vertical rectangular pin-opening intersecting the mortise, apin slidable therein, and inclines on the pin and in the pin-opening bywhich the pin is engaged with the tailpieceby gravitat-ion, saidinclines adapted to overlap and present vertical contact-faces to form alock, and said pin having an incline 22 which engages the lower angle ofthe tailpiece when the pin is raised, and moves it back to release thetailpiece.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WALTER H. KEEN.

\Vitnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, CHAS. E. TOWNSEND.

